Search engines and optimization

There is no getting away from Daniel Buchholz — at least not when you type “SPD” (Germany’s center-left Social Democrat party) and “Umwelt” — German for environment — into an Internet search engine. Google, MSN or the new German search engine Ask Deutschland, they all pop up with Berlin-based Buchholz at the top of the list. Even Yahoo lists him in fourth place.

Which is odd considering the politician’s relative anonymity. Ask a hundred Germans and you’d be lucky to find more than a handful who have heard of him. One has to dig deep even to find his name on the SPD homepage or that of the German parliament. A reflection of the real world. Tops on the official lists? SPD Minister of the Environment Sigmar Gabriel of course.

It’s an interesting article about the problems with search engine optimization and the impact (sometimes negative) on search results.